Institutional Decoupling in Emerging Markets: The Audit Paradox and Digitalisation Gap in Turkish Cooperatives

This study examines institutional decoupling in Turkish cooperative governance by focusing on the gap between the formal alignment of cooperative legislation with global governance principles and functional shortcomings in practice. Using qualitative document analysis, it compares national legislation and recent policy documents (including the Türkiye Cooperativism Strategy and Action Plan (2025–2029) and the Specialised Commission Report) with international standards (ICA principles and ILO Recommendation No. 193). Findings indicate substantial de jure convergence consistent with isomorphic pressures in New Institutional Theory, yet persistent de facto deviation in auditing and digitalisation mechanisms. This macro–micro paradox is also visible in international benchmarks. Although Türkiye ranks 17th globally by nominal GDP, no cooperative appears in the WCM Top 300 by absolute turnover, and only one (Trakya Birlik, rank 272) is listed in the turnover/GDP per capita ranking. From an Agency Theory perspective, member-elected internal audit bodies often lack professional competence, weakening oversight and accountability—an “audit paradox†—while slow digitalisation (e.g., KOOPBİS) and bureaucratic fragmentation reinforce a “digitalisation gap.†The article argues that Türkiye’s cooperative potential requires governance reform that professionalises auditing while preserving democratic participation and consolidates the fragmented framework into a coherent, digitally supported oversight regime.